Heather McPherson
Edmonton Strathcona, Alberta · NDP · Canada
“To the security personnel, to the Sergeant-at-Arms, I thank them so much for keeping us safe in this moment, when times become much more dangerous as we go. To the food services staff and the cafeteria staff who keep us fed, we are so grateful for that. I thank them.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take a moment, on behalf of New Democrats, to thank all the people who make the work that we do in the House possible.”
“It has been a difficult year for many of us. I am so very grateful for Blake, Christine, Jen, Peter and every one of the staff, who have been with us and who have done the important work. I would like to echo the thanks we have heard from other parties. Our families endure an awful lot while we come to do our work in this place.”
“Mr. Speaker, this week, the Prime Minister claimed that Trump's war in Iran was “worth it.” Thousands were killed, including schoolchildren. Schools and hospitals were destroyed. Families and entire communities were displaced.”
“Mr. Speaker, more than 3,000 volunteers helped collect over 200,000 signatures from Albertans who are determined to protect our mountains, our rivers and our drinking water from the threat of coal mining. Albertans have spoken loudly and clearly.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am so proud today to stand and table petition e‑6783, which was signed by 10,182 Canadians. These Canadians are asking the government to apply the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act consistently for all those Canadian citizens returning from conflict zones.”
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“At a time when Canadians needed bold action, the Liberal government delivered corporate subsidies and broken promises. The reality is Canadians cannot afford their groceries, rent, insurance, utilities or medication. The cost of all of it is continuing to rise. People are working full-time and they cannot get ahead. Young people feel locked out of home ownership and stability entirely. Seniors are skipping meals and prescription medication. Disability supports remain wildly inadequate. While I will congratulate the government on tinkering on the edges and making the application process somewhat easier, the amount that we are giving to some of the most vulnerable people in our community does not meet the needs that those members of our community face. Temporary rebates and boutique programs do not solve structural affordability problems.”
“Canadians, including Albertans, need economic security. They need strong public services and national unity that is based on fairness. National unity cannot be bought with a pipeline announcement, while people cannot afford rent, cannot find a doctor and feel abandoned by the governments that represent them. This economic statement did not help any of that. Budgets reveal priorities and values. Canadians are struggling with affordability, access to health care and a health care system in Alberta that is at the point of collapse. We have housing insecurity and global instability. This moment we find ourselves in right now calls for courage and it calls for transformational leadership. Instead what we saw from this spring economic statement was the protection of corporate interests, while asking ordinary Canadians to settle for less.”
“The frustrations that Albertans feel are real. When we talk about the budget implementation act and the spring economic statement, we have to acknowledge the moment we find ourselves in. People in Alberta feel economically insecure and politically alienated. We are seeing problems on both sides of this House in response to that. We know that the Conservatives are fuelling division and rage, exploiting that anger in Alberta with the UCP government. We know that the Liberals think dangling a pipeline in front of Albertans will in fact fix the separation issue. That is not the way this works. Appeasing separatists with symbolic concessions is like appeasing Donald Trump. It never works because the goalposts change. It never works because they will move the goalposts further down the line.”
“At a time when separatist rhetoric is being fuelled by Danielle Smith and the UCP government, at a time when workers' rights, public health care, public education, indigenous rights and human rights of many Albertans are under attack, these Albertans are standing up for the values that built my province: solidarity, public service, good jobs and looking out for one another. Their message is clear. Albertans are tired of governments that prioritize corporate profits and political division, while families struggle to afford housing, access health care and make ends meet. Today's day of action is a reminder that democracy is not passive. Change happens because people organize, speak out and demand better. Albertans, today, are demanding better. I want to start by talking a little bit about Alberta.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Madawaska—Restigouche . I wanted to start today by giving my best regards to Albertans who are standing up for the “Fight Back Now” day of action that is taking place across Alberta today. It is being organized by the Alberta Federation of Labour. I really wish I could be there today. I want to congratulate the workers, union members, indigenous leaders, community organizers, students, health care advocates and every ordinary Albertan who is coming together to raise their voices for fairness, for dignity and for a better future for our province and for our country.”
“Is this the same Liberal government that says the Canada Health Act should be universally accessible but refuses to meet with members of the Canadian Health Coalition, who have a legal opinion that has been created and actually says that Bill 11 breaks the Canada Health Act? It breaks the law. They should defend the law.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I feel as though that was one of the most dishonest speeches I have ever heard in this place, to be honest. The member talks about the minister 's having dialogue with her counterpart and says that they have been assured. Is this similar to when the Liberal government asked grocery stores to behave better, and they got an assurance? Is it the same thing as when the Liberal government promised to support pharmacare for all Canadians, but then did not do it; to expand mental health care for Canadians, and then did not do it; to make sure that all Canadians had access to the dental care they require, and then backed away from those promises?”
“The minister says she supports the Canada Health Act, but support without enforcement is meaningless. If the federal government refuses to act while a province openly builds a two-tiered health care system, then what exactly is the Canada Health Act for? Right now, Albertans are watching the slow Americanization of our health care. People with money move to the front of the line, and everyone else waits longer. This is not Canadian health care, and Canadians know it. The federal government cannot keep hiding behind scripted talking points. Albertans deserve answers. When will the government enforce the Canada Health Act?”
“While I am not surprised to see this Conservative government attack health care, the silence and the complicity of the Liberal government in the face of the breaking of the Canada Health Act is shocking. We watch the Liberal government, and every single time a corporation comes knocking, it opens the doors. However, when it comes time to protect our public institutions, we hear nothing. I am very curious about whether health care is being quietly put on the block in negotiations such as CUSMA and other trade agreements, in which corporate access and investor protections are treated as untouchable but public services are treated as bargaining chips. How far is this government willing to go to accommodate corporate interests, even if it means weakening something that Canadians fundamentally believe in and fundamentally require?”
“Nearly one in five Albertans leaves the emergency room without receiving care, because the wait times are so unbearable. While all of this is happening, Danielle Smith is openly dismantling public health care. She passed Bill 11, introducing two-tiered health care into Alberta for the first time in Canadian history. She is allowing doctors to charge patients privately while still billing the public system. She is diverting public money and health care workers away from the public system, and the public wait-lists grow longer. This violates the spirit and the principles of the Canada Health Act, in terms of universality, accessibility and equal care based on need, not on wealth.”
“Mr. Speaker, Albertans are tired. They are tired of hearing talking points while their public health care system collapses around them. I asked the minister whether she is deliberately allowing public health care to erode or whether she simply does not care enough to protect it. What I got in response was another vague non-answer and more platitudes about working with provincial partners. Meanwhile, in Alberta, people are dying as they wait for care. That is not figurative or rhetorical; it is literal. Emergency room doctors in my province are warning that preventable deaths are happening because emergency rooms are overcrowded, understaffed and overwhelmed. Seventeen rural emergency rooms are closed today because there are not enough health care workers. Patients are being treated in hallways and storage closets.”
“Mr. Speaker, today, despite serious concerns raised by local communities, workers and public health experts about the future of Toronto's waterfront, Ontario's Conservative government forced through legislation to control and expand the Billy Bishop airport. Canada's airports are critical public infrastructure built through public investment. There, and in airports across the country, the federal government has a responsibility to put public interest ahead of corporate profits. It should be stopping Doug Ford's scheme. Why is it instead pushing its own sell-off plans for airports across this country?”
“Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we really need to acknowledge with this motion is the threat that it puts forward towards French content and indigenous content in this country at a moment when we are seeing such pressure from the U.S. administration to undermine our sovereignty in just so many ways. There is the idea that we are appeasing Donald Trump on so many fronts. The fact of the matter is that Donald Trump becomes cranky or upset about just about anything, depending on which side of the bed he wakes up on, so when the Liberal government appeases Donald Trump and when the Conservatives kneel to Donald Trump, that is not helping Canadians. New Democrats are here to—”
“Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear that this is part of legislation that was passed years ago. This is making the playing field more fair for Canadian content creators. I think about things like Heated Rivalry . We are all so impressed and so proud when we are able to have productions like that in our country. Now there is this idea that we would allow somebody like Donald Trump to decide what our cultural policy should be and how we have any domestic policy that impacts how we support workers and how we support culture and arts in this country. It is so disappointing that this is the hill that the Conservatives decided to fight on today.”
“Mr. Speaker, I represent the riding of Edmonton Strathcona. We are a hotbed of arts and culture in the province of Alberta and across the country. I am extraordinarily proud to support people within the arts sector. One thing I will say, though, is that the member talked about appeasement, about appeasing Donald Trump, and how disappointing it is for many of us in the House to see the Conservatives taking a stance to appease somebody like Donald Trump, particularly concerning our cultural identity. I will also say that the digital services tax, a tax that was also put in place to make sure that the web giants were paying their fair share, was something that the Liberal government decided to give to Donald Trump as some sort of an inauguration gift. Canadians paid the price and got nothing in return.”
“The NDP stands for a Canada that tells its own stories, employs its own workers and refuses to be hollowed out by corporations that are being cowed by foreign governments. We call on the House to reject this motion, to stand with Canadian workers and to affirm that Canadian culture is not a trade irritant. It is who we are. The Conservatives want to bow to Trump. They want to support big corporations trying to rip Canadians off. New Democrats will always choose Canadians over corporate profits.”
“We make our policy based on what Canadians want and what Canadians need. If we abandon content funding every single time Donald Trump objects, we no longer have a cultural policy. I want members to think about the absurdity of that. If we have a policy dictated by Washington, we have already given up our cultural policy. I want to get back to the people who work in this industry. I want to talk about the actor in Edmonton who got their first gig on a CAVCO-funded production, the indigenous storyteller whose documentary in Edmonton was made possible because of the system that requires investment and the journalists in a small market who kept their job because local news got funded. These are the stakes that we are talking about right now.”
“The NDP believes in making the ultrawealthy and giant corporations pay their fair share so that we can fund the services, the storytelling, the creation and the building of our cultural sector, as well as the jobs that Canadians are depending on. The strategy of appeasement does not work. History has told us that it does not work. We know, as we negotiate with the United States, that there is an explicit exception in CUSMA that allows us to take measures to support and protect cultural industries. Canada fought for that clause. It is in the agreement, and we should be using it. I understand that the Conservatives want to pre-emptively roll over. They want to pre-emptively gut our own cultural policy to soothe Trump's trade hawks, but we do not make domestic policy based on what Donald Trump wants.”
“We are not going to stand with the shareholders for Netflix. Yes, Canadians are struggling with the cost of living. New Democrats have been saying that for years, but the answer to that is not to let web giants off the hook, because Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ are not struggling small businesses. They are trillion-dollar corporations that are extracting billions from Canadian subscribers every year, and they should pay into the system that they are benefiting from. (1305) If the Leader of the Opposition is so worried about the cost of living for ordinary Canadians, why is his solution to cut the levy on some of the wealthiest corporations in the world? Who is he actually fighting for?”
“The Canadian Media Producers Association said the CRTC's decisions: reflect the underlying philosophy of the Online Streaming Act, namely that broadcasters and streaming services that generate significant revenues from Canadian subscribers and viewers must also invest in Canadian programming. This is also about supporting French and indigenous production, to ensure that we have that content, to ensure that those stories are being told. That is an important role that we have in this country. The Conservatives are trying to stop the creation of that content at a moment in time where our cultural sovereignty is at risk. We are New Democrats, and workers need us. We need to be supporting them, and we will. We always will. Today, we are going to stand with the 15,000 ACTRA members and the 181,000-plus workers in the creative sector.”
“Canada's film and television production industry generates nearly $12 billion in GDP and $10.2 billion in production volume, and it supports over 181,000 jobs. Those jobs do not fund themselves. Critically, the contributions are not a direct tax on consumers. That is clearly a Conservative talking point, not a fact. It is a contribution requirement on corporations. I want to quote the Toronto president of ACTRA, Kate Ziegler, who said: Decisions to strengthen support for Indigenous and Canadian content and to improve discoverability are a step in the right direction. For ACTRA Toronto performers, this has the potential to generate new opportunities, strengthen domestic production, and help ensure Canadian audiences continue to see themselves reflected on screen.”
“The CRTC's new framework requires streaming services to direct 15% of their Canadian revenues to support domestic programming. That is part of a $2-billion support system for Canadian and indigenous content. It is not a punitive surprise. It follows the Online Streaming Act that was passed three years ago, after repeated calls from Canadian entertainment companies, broadcast workers and artists to modernize a decades-old Canadian content regulation. Let us put these numbers into perspective. Traditional broadcasters like CTV currently pay between 30% and 45%. Under the new framework, they will actually lower that payment to 25%, so we are asking the web giants to pay 15%. It is not radical. That is fair. That is fairness to Canadian content producers.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the member for Bourassa . I want to start by talking about the workers who this impacts. I want to talk about the grip in Sudbury, the indigenous filmmaker in Winnipeg and the French-language screenwriter in Rimouski. I want to talk about my friend Marcus, who is a boom operator in Vancouver. I will state this very plainly: New Democrats will continue to fight for workers' rights, and that includes those who work within the arts and culture sector in this country. We will not stand with multi-billion-dollar corporations and web giants over Canadian workers. That is the ultimate contradiction that we see with this motion today. The leader of the official opposition claims to stand for working Canadians, but today he is standing up for Netflix, Amazon and Disney.”
“We should be contributing to it so we can ensure that people in our communities can retire with dignity and have that security for their senior years. I wonder if the member could provide her thoughts on this reduction in the contributions for the CPP.”
“Mr. Speaker, one of the things I saw in this budget that alarmed me was the change to the contributions for the Canada pension plan. I have been very concerned about the Canada pension plan because in my province of Alberta there has been a serious attack on it by the Conservative government in that province. I brought forward legislation, Bill C-207 , that would protect the CPP, but the government did not choose to do that. In fact, it chose to reduce the contributions. I wonder if that is because our current Liberal government, or should I say Progressive Conservative government, sees the CPP the same way the Conservatives do, as a business tax instead of deferred wages that, in fact, workers have contributed to so they can have a dignified retirement. The CPP is something we should all be proud of in this country.”
“One of the things my colleague spoke about was the health care system and the need for us to protect the Canada Health Act, as well as the need for us to look at those affordability things, such as dental care and pharmacare. If we want to talk about something that will make life more affordable for Canadians, it would be ensuring that their pharmaceuticals are paid for and that they are covered. It would be ensuring that dental care for themselves, their children and their families is covered. This is something that makes life more affordable. What would it look like for people in my province of Alberta if the Liberal government had actually lived up to the promises it made to New Democrats and the promises it made to Canadians?”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked about the fact that, right now, Canadians across this country are really struggling to pay for groceries, to pay for rent, to find housing and to pay for gas. The Liberal government brought forward a spring economic statement that completely missed an opportunity, an opportunity for the government to show that it understood what Canadians were dealing with, the challenges that Canadians were facing. There is nothing for renters. There is nothing for people who use public transit. There is nothing that would help people with the affordability crisis they are facing. In fact, the government is just redoing announcements in the most typical Liberal fashion.”
“The greatest tribute we can pay to the fallen is to make sure that the living are protected, so today, we mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living.”
“Mr. Speaker, on National Day of Mourning, we honour those who went to work and never came home. Every year, hundreds of Canadian workers are killed on the job and hundreds of thousands more are injured or become sick, left to fight for the compensation they have already earned. These workers are parents, daughters, sons and neighbours. They are the people who keep our country running, and right now, their lives are worth less to the government than a balance sheet. Labour protections are being gutted while unions are being undermined and workers who speak up are being pushed out. New Democrats have always stood with workers. We come from workers. We are the party of workers. On this Day of Mourning, we know that mourning without action is not enough.”
“Mr. Speaker, the government is not listening to steelworkers. The government left USW off its CUSMA advisory council. It also shut out the Canadian Labour Congress and the over three million Canadian workers it represents. Instead, the government gave seats to more than a dozen CEOs, prominent Conservatives and just two labour representatives. How can the government claim to be there for workers while refusing to give them seats at the table? Will the government expand worker representation before CUSMA negotiations begin, starting with the CLC?”
“Mr. Speaker, steelworkers were in Ottawa this week reminding the government that steel is the backbone of our economy and our economic sovereignty. The Prime Minister has said that Canada will use Canadian materials in Canadian projects, but Canada does not yet have that capacity. Will the government take advantage of this incredible opportunity to build Canadian capacity, to grow our industry and to invest in workers? Will the government work with the United Steelworkers to develop and implement the comprehensive steel industrial strategy they are calling for?”
“Mr. Speaker, 130 students from Gaza have been waiting over two years to continue their studies at 26 Canadian universities, including the University of Alberta. These brilliant graduate students have survived genocide. They have lost family members. They are trying to get into universities to continue their study, despite the fact that the Israeli forces have destroyed every university in Gaza. The U.K., France, Ireland and Italy have gotten students out of Gaza, but Canada has refused to expedite the process, and it is an international embarrassment. I want to know why the minister is not acting. Is it—”
“Mr. Speaker, 42 years ago today the Canada Health Act was passed, making it the law across Canada that health care must be provided based on need, not the ability to pay. However, the current Liberal government keeps letting Conservatives break the law. Danielle Smith's latest plan for two-tiered health care is letting the ultrarich book themselves expensive diagnostic tests and jump the line. Other premiers are watching. What will it take for the government to do its job to enforce the Canada Health Act and to protect public health care for all Canadians?”
“Mr. Speaker, while the government lets oil companies rake in record profits and gouge Canadians at the pump, Imperial Oil is now reporting another major spill of 843,000 litres of toxins, salt and bitumen. Meanwhile, indigenous leaders are waiting for action on more than a trillion litres of toxic tailings leaking into watersheds in northern Alberta. What will it take for the government to protect Canadians, to respect indigenous rights and to enforce environmental laws in this country?”
“I understand that every member of Parliament has a constituency office dealing with the same issues, where Canadian citizens cannot access the services that the government is responsible for providing. The system is broken.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have to say I am very disappointed by that response. The member spoke about the idea of fixing the system. I would like him to say that to the senior who called my office because they could not access OAS. When we call the government to get help, we are told, “Don't worry. Don't worry. This senior can wait. When they do get their benefits, they will get many months at one time.” It is as if the government does not understand that people actually have to buy groceries every month. They have to pay their rent every month. When that member of the House talked about impacts and how this is being fiscally responsible, he has to know, because I know that my office is not the only one.”
“We need to invest in the public service so that benefits are delivered on time, calls are answered and mistakes are fixed quickly. We need to halt the reckless replacement of human services with unproven AI systems and we need to commit to building a system that is accessible to everyone. Canadians deserve that from their government.”
“AI makes mistakes, and when government systems make mistakes, Canadians pay the price through missed payments, lost benefits, delayed care and real harm. This is not innovation. This is downloading risk onto the people who can least afford it. They are seniors, people living with disabilities and families already stretched to the limit. Canadians are not asking for less government. They are asking for a government that works; a government that delivers benefits on time; and a government that sees them, hears them and helps them when they need it the most. Right now, they are not getting that and these cuts are only making it worse. We need to reverse the cuts. We need to stop the layoffs of the very people Canadians are relying upon.”
“Cuts to environmental oversight mean less protection for the air we breathe and the water we drink. Cuts to indigenous services mean fewer supports for communities that already face systemic barriers. Cuts to science mean decisions made with less evidence and more guesswork. At a time when Canadians are struggling with the cost of living, the government is making it harder for them to access the very services they depend on. Now, the government is saying that AI will fix it, that artificial intelligence is the solution. However, Canadians do not need a chatbot when they are about to be evicted. They do not need an automated response when their benefits are being denied. They do not need an algorithm deciding their future without accountability. They need a human being who will listen, who will understand and who will fix their problems.”
“It means a senior who applied for OAS months ago still has not received their OAS and cannot pay for groceries because their benefits have not arrived. It means that a parent loses the Canada child benefit and waits half a year for it to be fixed. These are not isolated stories. This is the daily reality for Canadians. Instead of fixing this problem, the government is making it worse. Tens of thousands of public service workers are being cut. That means that there are fewer people to answer the phones, process the applications and fix the mistakes when the system gets it wrong. Therefore, wait times will get longer, errors will increase and Canadians will fall through the cracks. Cuts to food inspection mean greater risk of contaminated food reaching family dinner tables.”
“Mr. Speaker, for decades, governments in this country have chipped away at the public service. When the Liberals came to power, they ran on not cutting jobs of hard-working public servants who provide these services, and yet that is exactly what they are doing across the country right now. This is about having a government that works for the people they represent. This is about whether Canadians can actually get the help that they need and access the services that they depend upon. Right now, they cannot. In my office in Edmonton Strathcona, my excellent, dedicated staff are overwhelmed, not because they are inefficient but because the system is so broken. This is what underfunding looks like. It means a worker who lost their job cannot access EI and is facing eviction.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Canada Health Act guarantees Canadians universal access to public health care, but Danielle Smith is creating a private system that will hollow out health care in Alberta and spread to other provinces, making the crisis across the country even worse. At the same time, Canadians in nine provinces and territories still have no access to national pharmacare, and the health minister will not even meet with the Canadian Health Coalition to talk about it. Is the Prime Minister deliberately letting Canadian health care erode, or does he simply not care enough to protect it?”
“Madam Speaker, this week the NDP government in Manitoba took over a failing for-profit care home to protect seniors. Meanwhile, the federal government owns Revera, Canada's second-largest for-profit long-term care chain. In Edmonton Strathcona, 10 seniors died and 84% of the residents tested positive during COVID-19. Despite the efforts of hard-working staff, corners are cut and tragedies like this occur every day at for-profit facilities across the country. When will the government prioritize the health and safety of seniors and nationalize long-term care?”
“Mr. Speaker, the government is cutting thousands of public sector jobs, like those of the people who process EI, OAS and CPP claims and passports; agricultural researchers; and 1,300 food inspectors. These are not numbers on a CEO's spreadsheet. They are real people. They work to help Canadians. They support family farmers. They keep our food safe. Instead of giving his friends a tax break on their yachts and their private jets, will the Prime Minister stop these reckless cuts before public health, public services and our food safety are put at risk?”
“Mr. Speaker, that was not a response to my question about when the government is going to step in to tell Danielle Smith to adhere to the Canada Health Act. I want to talk about one other piece that Danielle Smith is attacking, which is the rights of trans kids and trans people in my province. She is interfering in the relationships that trans people have with their doctors. There are three people that should be in the room when trans kids are talking about their health care: them, their parents and their doctors. The fact that Danielle Smith seems to feel that she needs to use the notwithstanding clause so that she can insert herself in those conversations is disgusting. I would ask that the government use the powers it has to protect human rights and our public health care system in this country.”
“At what point do you look at that and say that Canadians do not want a two-tiered, American-style health care system?” I wrote to the Prime Minister . We have been pleading with the government to step in, to take the steps necessary and to defend the Canada Health Act to ensure that all Canadians, including Albertans, have access to publicly delivered, universally accessible health care. When I stand in this place and I ask the question of the minister , I get nothing. I am going to ask again: Where is the line? When will the Liberal government live up to its obligations to Canadians and in fact enforce the Canada Health Act?”
“For every Canadian who cherishes a health care system that is public, that is universally accessible and that is delivered to every single Canadian equitably, this is the biggest threat, this threat that we see from Danielle Smith. I saw Scott Moe put up his hand and say, “That sounds great to me.” People in my province are dying because our health care system is failing, and what they need right now is a federal government that stands up and defends the law of this land, the Canada Health Act. That is our law. That is the federal law; that is our jurisdiction. I asked the minister , “Where is that line? At what point are you going to step in? At what point are you going to say that attacking our public health care system is un-Canadian?”
“When I asked the minister what she was going to do to protect the Canada Health Act, to protect Canadians in this country, including Albertans, her response was wholly inadequate, talking about innovation and about building infrastructure at a moment in time when the failure of the health care system in Alberta has caused people to lose their lives. I want to quote Dr. Paul Parks. He is a Medicine Hat ER physician, and he is the past president of the Alberta Medical Association. He said, “I've been here 25 years and never seen it [so] bad.” This is the reality that we are living with, with our health care system in Alberta. Make no mistake: When Danielle Smith brings forward a bill like Bill 11, that is the biggest attack on our health care system since Tommy Douglas and the NDP made medicare a reality in this country.”
“Mr. Speaker, I asked a question of the government on the privatization of health care in Alberta. I want to be very clear: This is something that is starting in Alberta but something that I am deeply worried will have impacts across this country. I also want to be clear: This is not a theoretical issue. This is a debate; it is a conversation that Canadians need to have. On December 22, a father of three, a 44-year-old man, went to the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton. He waited eight hours with chest pains. He lost his life. Those three children do not have a father any longer because of our failing health care system.”
“Canadians need real leadership, someone who will declare a national housing emergency to mobilize resources, to protect renters and to measure success by homes built and lives changed.”